Metallica have unveiled the complete version of "Atlas, Rise!," the third track from their new album Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct. Check it out above.

The band shared a 30-second clip of the song on Friday, with an additional twist. Fans were encouraged to enter a special code earlier this afternoon to hear the full song a half hour early on the band's official website. The code was found inside special Halloween masks featuring the Hardwired album art that were available at local music shops.

The band's website slowed to a crawl as fans crowded in. Once the page loaded, however, early-bird listeners were treated to Metallica's third new song since August – and perhaps their most inventive attempt yet to take advantage of the music industry's shifting new landscape. Drummer Lars Ulrich said the band is excited by those changes.

"You could argue that there’s two creative processes now," Ulrich told Citizens of Humanity earlier this year. "There’s the creative process of making the record, writing the songs and getting all that done, and the creative process of figuring out what the f--- to do with this record and how you get it out to people. There’s no 'one way.' You know, do you want to leak it on YouTube, do you want to give it away, do you want to sell it. Whichever version … there’s no right or wrong way, it’s only what works for you. There’s no boundaries to any of it, and that’s kind of an exciting thing, a new thing."

Tomorrow marks the fifth anniversary of the release of Metallica's much-maligned collaborative album with Lou Reed, Lulu. It has been more than eight years since their last proper studio album, Death Magnetic, came out. The two earlier advance songs from Hardwired ... to Self-Destruct, which is set for release on Nov. 18, were "Hardwired" and "Moth Into Flame."

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